Sky Vegas confiscates player wins due to game malfunction

[FictionNet]

Over at meister's forum, players are raising hell because Sky Vegas have taken back wins due to a 'game malfunction'. Early days, but Sky do appear to be offering little more than 'tough f`king luck, go away' to their valued players.

http://www.casinomeister.com/forums/...-new-slot.html

[universal4]

Keep us updated on this....just haven't had time to keep up with the posts over there lately....

Rick
Universal4

[baldidiot]

I'm kind of surprised by this - Sky are usually pretty hot at customer service.

[FictionNet]

I'm kind of surprised by this - Sky are usually pretty hot at customer service.

I've always found them horrible from a Sky TV customer's point of view but I've never had any cause for concern when I was an online betting customer. Still, judging from how the meister thread is developing, Sky appear to be doing everything possible to alienate customers.

[baldidiot]

I've always found them horrible from a Sky TV customer's point of view but I've never had any cause for concern when I was an online betting customer. Still, judging from how the meister thread is developing, Sky appear to be doing everything possible to alienate customers.

I thought the TV was pretty good - when I had Sky in my last house a squirrel chewed through the cable. I called them in the evening and an engineer came round the next morning and didn't leave until he fixed everything. Couldn't ask for more really!

But we digress... Has there been any comment from Sky on this?

[FictionNet]

From the meister thread, it appears Sky haven't comment but are taking plenty of action to stop anyone else commenting too. They've been removing facebook comments about the issue and blocking complainers from adding more comments. They're also closing PLAYER ACCOUNTS of those who complain, according to the thread. If this is accurate, Sky are behaving appallingly.

[thepogg]

I've mailed them on my affiliate account regarding another issue last week and as yet have had no response and after reading the the CM thread i PMd their rep here (Dean_Leyland) and as yet have had no reply though i know he's logged in since. Right now i can feel Sky Vegas slipping down the rankings at a pace.....

ThePOGG

[FictionNet]

Yup, I'm all for waiting for more info before doing anything decisive but the way this incident is going, Sky Vegas are going to be unpromotable on any reputable site. I'm not far off sending a mailer to my subscribers, telling them to stay the hell away from Sky Vegas. A report on my site is very likely, advising players that Sky Vegas are a rogue outfit.

[Dean_Leyland]

Evening All,

First of all, I would like to say that I have been monitoring both this thread and the casinomeister thread closely since the issue occurred last week. However it has been difficult for me to expand on the statement that was released via various outlets including Facebook at this time.

We are performing a full investigation into what exactly happened and until that has been completed, it would not only be wrong of me to comment on any of the many points being made but also I simply do not have the level of detail I know you all require.

What I can state are a number of facts:

1. The issue affected an incredibly small number of customers. It was identified quickly and as the statement mentioned, only impacted customers using Euros as their currency.

2. Sky are taking this very seriously and are being as transparent as we are able to at this point. Putting the announcement on Facebook signifies there was no intent to "cover up".

I can most certainly appreciate your desire for information on what exactly happened but until the details are made clear, I think it's important we all try to deal in facts and not speculation into "hacks" or "inside jobs".

Finally, I would also like to emphasise that this particular issue was isolated solely to the brand new game, Treasure Island which launched that very day and did not impact on ANY other game.

Thanks for your patience on this matter.

Dean

[FictionNet]

Hi, Dean. I appreciate the post. I will reply in more detail later - in the meantime, I have only one question - what is your response to the allegation being made by players that their Sky Vegas player accounts and Facebook group accounts are being blocked if they compain about this issue?

I am prepared to give a reasonable period of time for investigation before alerting my players to this issue but you need to be quick. If even one player has been shafted, followed by account/fb closure due to complaining, then I will be telling every one of my players.

[Dean_Leyland]

Hi Rob,

We are NOT closing any player accounts as a result of people complaining on Facebook about this.Thinking logistically, this would not be feasible. If "James Robson" comments on a thread on Facebook, the likelihood is we have have several people of the same name in our database and so would not even be able to simply locate the account and close it. Not to mention that a business/brand the size of Sky would not resort to such tactics. If any accounts have been closed there MUST have been direct communications between the player and customer services.

Thanks,

Dean

[thepogg]

Hi Dean - Thanks for the response.

I appreciate that these things can take time to investigate and that you want to actually have something fact-based to say when you do respond. However, i would ask you to consider this from the other side - with the allegations flying around, as far-fetched as they may seem, no response at all is the worst possible response as to all intents and purposes Sky Vegas appear to be validating the claims by dealing with them with 'a wall of silence'.

I don't know if you have already, but it might be an idea simply to post in the CM thread and say 'don't have any further info yet, but we are working on it and i'll update you as soon as i know anything'. It doesn't fix the situation, but it does defuse it somewhat.

I'm not moving Sky Vegas right at this moment and i genuinely hope that all of this can be dealt with in a manner where i don't have to. I like Sky Vegas as a brand and would hate to lose one of the good guys.

ThePOGG

[FictionNet]

This quote comes from the meister thread - "I can assure you that I and at least eight other Sky Vegas members I know of, have been barred from posting at the Sky Vegas/Bingo Facebook pages"

I've fallen a few days behind EVERYTHING since getting back from LAC (I always forget how conferences slow me down for a week or two) but I am still following this closely. This is a potentially huge story and there should be no attempt to muzzle customer feedback.

[thepogg]

Ok - i think this has gone on long enough Dean. Details need to be made clear regarding this situation as reading the CasinoMeister thread, it appears that Sky Vegas are now threatening legal action against customers involved. That's not what i'd consider trustworthy behaviour, espeically when the the mistakes actually been Sky's not the customers. In fact this bares a striking similarity to the Betfair Happy Hour issue from 2010, if on a smaller scale.

ThePOGG

[FictionNet]

If what I read on the meister thread is true, Sky are behaving appallingly. There will be zero (positive) publicity for Sky from myself whilst this is ongoing.

[thepogg]

It's been over three weeks now since Dean last logged in - i've PMd him to try and ellicit a responce.

ThePOGG

[FictionNet]

I think it's time for affiliates promoting Sky to seriously consider whether they are sending their visitors to a responsible casino. Sky have not done themselves any favours by treating players like dirt and failing to respond sufficiently here at GPWA. I know things take time to investigate but c'mon, this is ridiculous. Time to speak up, Dean - or I absolutely will be issuing a warning to my visitors. It'll go out in my next newsletter.

[thepogg]

I'm in the process of having my site redesigned - the new review format has already taken this into account, documented the incident and severly penilised Sky Vegas. They've no intention of responding to this thread, their just hoping all this will go away. What a real let down.

ThePOGG

[topboss]

Wow! And to think I was considering signing up to promote these guys...glad I didn't waste my time...

[FictionNet]

I hope if Sky ever apply for GPWA membership, they are firmly rejected as a result of their handling of this. Ignoring this thread is disgraceful. I don't have a public blacklist at casinobeacon.co.uk but I'm seriously considering adding one just so I can add Sky.